OVERVIEW: The world has turned upside down for Thad
and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother was
murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the throne
of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence he can’t stop.

Growing up ignored by the nobility, Ari never wanted to be a proper princess.
And when Thad suddenly starts training Ari to take his place, she realizes that
her brother’s ascension to the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish
Granter named Alistair Teague, who tricked Thad into wishing away both the
safety of his people and his soul in exchange for the crown.

So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian
Vaughn, to teach her how to fight Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal
empire, Sebastian might just hold the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses,
saving Ari’s brother—and herself.

But Teague is ruthless and more than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in
his way—and now he has his sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit
him, she’ll lose Sebastian, her brother…and her soul.

FORMAT: The Wish Granter is the second novel
in the Ravenspire series. The Ravenspire series is made up of standalone novels
that are all fairytale retellings. It is not necessary to have read the
previous book.

The Wish Granter is told in third person POV. Most of the story
is told from Ari and Sebastian's POVs, but there are occasional chapters that
are told from The Wish Granter's POV. The Wish Granter stands at 423 pages
and was published February 14, 2017
by Balzer + Bray.

ANLYSIS: The Wish Granter comes hot off the
heels of C.J. Redwine's first Ravenspire
novel, The Shadow Queen. This time instead of retelling a fairytale
that is super familiar to everyone, Redwine takes on the challenge of giving a
lesser-known fairytale a new twist – Rumpelstiltskin.
Of course, Rumpelstiltskin isn't
unknown, but it isn't as commonly told in fairytale retellings as Snow White, Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast.

Looking back on The Shadow Queen, one of my biggest
issues was the simple fact that while it had some plot twists, it just didn't
feel like it had that 'it' factor to make it stand out from the other Snow
White fairytale retelling. The Shadow Queen wasn't bad enough
to make me stop reading the Ravenspire series, but it definitely lowered my
expectations for future books which is why I was so surprised at The
Wish Granter. It was a lot better than I expected.

It should be noted that while all the books in the Ravenspire series take part in the same
world, they are standalone novels. It isn't necessary to read them all and you
don't have to read them in order. There was a brief mention in The
Wish Granter of the main character from The Shadow Queen, but it
wasn't enough that it ruined anything or even confused the reader. I think the
standalone factor really helped as it made it easier to judge each book
individually.

The Wish Granter follows the story of Ari, who is a newly crowned princess. Her twin brother was just
named king even though he wasn't the next in line to the throne, but he didn't
get the title in the traditional way. He did so by making a deal with The Wish Granter, an old fae who holds
the ability to help give people their hearts desire but at a huge cost. Ari sets out to find a way to break the
deal between her brother and The Wish Granter. With the help of a very broken
young weapons master named Sebastian,
Ari will stop at nothing to discover
The Wish Granter's secrets and find a
way to beat him at his own game before he destroys the whole kingdom.

What really stands out in The Wish Granter is the
character development. Ari, Sebastian, and even Alistair Teague (The Wish Granter) were all extremely detailed. Ari was a
head-strong character. She was confident, knew where she stood in life, and
when she made her mind up on something there was no stopping her. She wasn't
your average tiny little princess. She loved to eat (sometimes a little too
much) and she spent most of her time in the kitchen with the servants she grew
up with as opposed to the royal elite.

Sebastian was a
broken individual who came from a very dark background filled with neglect,
abuse, and poverty. He wasn't handed anything in life and he worked his hardest
to remain under the radar of Alistair
Teague. His abusive background has made him stone-cold to emotion and
reluctant to trust anyone. He doesn't want friends, he just wants to work and
earn enough money to eventually gain his freedom. That is until he meets Ari who doesn't take no for an answer
and wants to build a friendship.

Alistair Teague
is an old fae who is manipulative, evil and just horrible. He preys on the weak
and uses their desperation to his advantage. He is a bit of a fantasy drug
lord. He manufacturers and distributes a heavy drug that many of the poorer
people in the village have become addicted to.

While reading the story, you definitely grew to like Ari and Sebastian. You felt their emotions, their trials and tribulations,
and really went on the journey with them. Alistair
Teague, on the other hand, you learned to despise because he was evil,
manipulative, and just out for only himself. Pretty much everything you come to
expect in a villain.

I spend a lot of time talking about the characters in the
story because The Wish Granter is very character center. The plot, action,
and everything centers around the characters building relationships, changing,
and fighting for the good of the kingdom. If the characters hadn't been as
detailed or as captivating, I don't think the story would have been as good as
it turned out to be.

There is some romance in this novel, but it develops in a
way that is realistic. It also isn't 'forever and ever' love and more of what I
would call a puppy love romance. Given the age of the characters, I think it is
believable and helps add some depth to the novel.

C.J. Redwine does
a really good job of taking the story of Rumpelstiltskin
and giving it a new take. There were familiar elements, but for the most part this
is an original retelling. I would definitely tell people who like fairytale
retellings but didn't like The Shadow Queen to give The
Wish Granter atry.

Overall, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Wish
Granter. I really liked the characters and was immediately captivated by the
story.